Wood finishing machine



Aug. 22, 1950 w. N. BELK woon FINISHING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 2, 1947 Aug. 22, 1950 w. N. BELK woon FINISHING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 2, 1947 Aug. 22, 1950 W. N. BELK WOOD FINISHING MACHINE Filed June 2, 1947 5' Sheets-Sheet 3 Aug. 22, 1950 w. N. BELK 2,519,816

WOOD FINISHING MACHINE Filed June 2, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Aug. 22, 1950 w. E 2,519,816

' WOOD FINISHING MACHINE Filed June 2, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 patented Aug. 22, 1950 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE '7 Claims.

This application is a continuation in part of my copending application, Serial No. 504,077, filed September 27, 1943 and now abandoned.

This invention relates to a new and improved Wood finishing machine adapted for completely finishing wood flooring, for example, ready for use, the wood being dipped for moisture proofing, termite and powder post beetle proofing, as well as resistance to fungus, and being thereafter dried, waxed, buffed, and polished on all sides. The treatment can be applied to oak, maple, beech, pecan, and hickory flooring, and all soft wood lumber in flooring, ceiling, drop siding, finish, and plywoods.

I am aware that other machines have been devised for wood finishing, but they have not been satisfactory for several reasons, among which may be mentioned the fact that they have not provided for complete immersion of the wood, and hence, only the exposed surface of flooring, for example, would receive the desired treatment, another important objection being the fact that the pieces were fed endwise through the machine and usually in groups tied together by their interfitting tongues and grooves, such handling being necessitated from the fact that the liquid treatment was applied by spraying and, of course, such assembling of the pieces meant loss of time and lowered efficiency of operation all around, besides giving rise to the objection that occasionally pieces would separate from the groups in passing through the drying unit and were apt to get askew and rake the infra-red lamps, causing expensive breakage to whole rows of these lamps at a time. Moreover, these earlier machines invariably had all of the sections thereof arranged in a single row, and, hence, they required extremely long buildings and numerous attendants at intervals the length thereof, and the operation was not only costly but not as productive as desired.

.It is, therefore, the principal object of my invention to provide a machine which eliminates the objections mentioned above, and which is of generally U-shaped design to permit installation i a comparatively small building, and make possible its efficient operation with about half as man attendants as were required in the earlier machines.

In accordance with my invention, the intake leg of the generally U-shaped machine includes an immersion tank into which the pieces are discharged preferably directly from a sander or sanders and are then fed onto a conveyor for gpassage endwise through a wiper for removal of excess liquid that is conducted back to the tank. In that way the pieces have the dust rinsed off in the immersion and whatever small amount of dust might still adhere after the immersion is more or less certain of removal in the passage of the pieces between the brushes of the wiper, The pieces, therefore, emerge from the wiper in the best possible condition for drying, there being no surface dirt or dust and no surplus liquid that would interfere with even drying.

In accordance with my invention, the crossportion of the generally U-shaped machine includes the drier, and it is wide enough to permit the feeding of pieces sidewise therethrough as distinguished from the endwise feeding through the driers in earlier machines. The whole piece is therefore subjected to drying simultaneously and there is eliminated any likelihood of breakage of lamps.

In accordance with my invention, the outgoing leg of the generally U-shaped machine has a conveyor that feeds the dried pieces endwise through a waxing and polishing unit. The latter unit is of improved design permitting easy adjustment of a wax container relative to the waxing roll and easy access to the container for refilling.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan View of a machine made in accordance with my invention, indicating also in section the building housing the machine;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the immersion tank taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the drier end of the U-shaped machine taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 4 and 5 are a plan view and side View of the wiper unit;

Fig. 6 is a side view of the waxing and polishing unit;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section through the waxing portion;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional detail showing the arrangement of the wax container with respect to the waxing roll, and

Fig. 9 is a vertical section through the cleaning brush end of the waxing and polishing unit.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the reference numeral l0 designates the immersion tank forming a portion of the intake leg of the generally U-shaped machine. and at ll is indicated a sander from a which the pieces 12 of wood flooring, or other lumber, are discharged into the immersion tank. A second sander i indicated in dotted lines at Ha at the opposite end of the tank, inasmuch as the pieces to be treated may be discharged into the tank from its both ends, machines of the present type having been built and satisfactorily operated upon as much as four thousand feet of wood flooring per hour. Incidentally, these machines require only eight men as attendants per machine, whereas the previous in-lin type of wood finishing machines referred to above usually required about sixteen men and the production on those machines was usually only about fifteen hundred feet per hour. The pieces l2 are completely immersed in the bath l3, and are carried upwardly from the bath on a conveyor i l and deposited on a conveyor [5 for passage through the wiper unit [6 preliminary to the placing of these pieces on another conveyor 1'. operating at right angles to the conveyor 5 for passage through the drier l8. A drain [9 extends from the tank It] under the wiper unit l8 and serves to conduct back to the tank the surplus liquid removed from the pieces passing through the wiper unit, so that there is no waste. Another conveyor operates at right angles to the outlet end of the conveyor ll, parallel to the conveyor 15, and conveys the pieces endwise through a waxing and polishing unit 2|. Finally, the finished pieces, waxed and polished ready for use, are received on a table 22 at the end of the outgoing leg of the generally U-shaped machine. The 'U-shape is of considerable advantage, not only from the standpoint that it permits insta'lation of the machine in a building B of moderate size but also because with the compact arrangement about half as many men are needed as attendants in the operation of the machine. For example, the in-line design of previous machines required a building 500 ft. long, producing 1500 feet of finished lumber per hour with 18 men (not counting those required for bundlin finished lumber), whereas the present machine has been installed in a 34 ft. by 64 ft. building and produced 6500 feet of finished lumber per hour with only 8 men (including 2 men for bundling finished lumber). The wood to be processed is brought into building B on hand-trucks through door D1 and fed from these trucks directly to sander H or Ha. The finished wood is bundled on table 22 and placed on hand-trucks for removal through door D2, and if a. railroad loading track is provided alongside the building on that side, it is obvious that the bundles-can be loaded directly into box-cars for shipment. Door D3 is for the use of thepersonnel.

The immersion tank I 0, as illustrated in Fig. 2. has a generally rectangular sump portion 23, on one side of which is a vertical wall 24 and a chute 25 extending from the top thereof the full length of the tank to cause the pieces to Slide down into the preservative solution and be thoroughly wetted. An inclined drain board 26 projects upwardly at 'a small angle from the bottom of the sump .23 on the opposite side from the wall 2 to a point beyond the conveyor 15, where a vertical side wall 21 is provided, which with the opposed end walls 28 and 29 completes the tank. The conveyor I I has sprockets for driving the same mounted on longitudinally extending shafts 30 and 3|, one of which is suitably driven to cause the conveyor to run in the direction indicated by the arrows for continuously feeding the wetted pieces l2 from the bath I3 onto th conveyor J5,

in the manner indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. The drive means has not been shown, but it will be understood that the conveyor I will operate continuously throughout the operation of the rest of the machine. Most of the excess liquid on the pieces is drained from them as they are carried up on the conveyor chains I l and when they land on the conveyor [5. A longitudinally extending strip 32 is provided between the discharge end of the conveyor I 4 and the conveyor 15, as shown in Fig. 2, to guide the pieces onto the conveyor 5 and eliminate likelihood of pieces dropping between the conveyors and being returned to the bath. In the event the wetted pieces are fed to the conveyor l5 faster than they are removed by the conveyor l5 and passed through the wiper unit IS, the wetted pieces I2 will be stacked by an attendant on the conveyor l5 behind a magazine or barrier 33 that is disposed crosswise relative to th conveyor l5 and elevated just enough for easy passage of the pieces I 2 therebeneath. The conveyor l5 automatically feeds the lowermost pieces from the stack in the magazine 33 into the wiper unit is and, as stated before, a drain i9 projecting from the end -of the tank [0 under the wiper unit returns to the .tank whatever excess liquid is .removed from the pieces in their passage through th wiper unit, thus eliminating any waste of preservative solution and at the same time insuring uniformly wetted pieces being fed to the drier, so that there will be no difficulty in drying the pieces uniformly and completely preparatory to the final waxing and polishing. In passing, it should beclear that the complete immersion of the pieces in the preservative solution is far more beneficial than merely applying by spra nozzles some of this solution to the top surface, as was done in earlier machines. This treatment gives protection, whereas the other treatment gave substantially less than 50% protection. Furthermore, the complete immersion of the pieces right after they leave the sander is of advantage in rinsing the sander dust off, so that no intermediate step of brushing or otherwise cleaning is necessary, and if any dust 'stil adheres when the wetted pieces enter the wiper unit, that small amount is certain of removal in passing through the brushes in the wiper unit at the same time the remaining excess liquid is removed.

The wiper unit I5 is also known as the brushing unit, inasmuch as the wiping is done with brushes. There are four brushes 34, 35, 36 and 31. The brushes 34 and 35 are horizontally disposed above and below the path-of travel of the lumber, in a. space between the conveyor l5 and its companion conveyor I5a, in order to brush off the top and bottom surfaces of the pieces as they pass through. The brushes 36 and 3? 'areon vertical axes and aredisposed adjacent the brushes 34 and 35 on opposite sides of the line of travel, so .that one brush will work in the grooved portion and the other on the tongued 'portion of a piece of flooring, for example. The brushes '34 and 35 have their bearingsvertically adjustable on the upright frame members 38 tosuit different thicknesses of work and to compensate for wear. Sheet metal shields 40 and 4| are provided over the brush :34 and around the outer sides of the brushes 36 and 37, to catch whatever liquid might otherwise be sprayed from these brushes in the operation .of the machine and discharge it into the drain [9 disposed therebeneath.

Belt and pulley drives are illustrated for the four brushes, and .also a chain and sprocket'drive 42 for transmitting drive from the incoming conveyor l5 to the outgoing conveyor a. Feed rollers 43 disposed above the end portion of the conveyor I5 serve to reduce slippage, and they with the conveyor 15 more or less positively feed the pieces through between the brushes. Another feed roller it cooperates with the adjacent end portion of the conveyor I50, to assist in the feeding through of the work. It should be evident from this description that the wetted pieces leaving the wiper unit 15 will not only be thoroughly cleaned by reason of their passage between the brushes, but all surplus liquid will be removed and returned to the sump 23 by the drain l9.

An attendant stationed at the far end of the conveyor 15a, by the outgoing end of the wiper unit l6, watches the wiped pieces l2 to be sure they slide down the inclined shelf [51) and drop properly onto the conveyor [1 for passage sidewise through the drier l8, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3 A hood 45 having side walls 536 is adjustable vertically with respect to frame members 41, as by means of jack screws (58, to adjust a horizontal bank of infra-red lamps it vertically with respect to the conveyor ll, to suit difierent thicknesses of work and also to insure correct drying without danger of scorching, bearing in mind the length of travel of the pieces through the drier and, of course, the speed of travel as well as the drying characteristics of the preservative solution used. The fact that the pieces I2 are fed sidewise through the drier is important, because it eliminates a serious objection to the in-line design of machine, namely, that a piece getting askew when fed endwise through the drier was apt to break a whole row or more of expensive infra-red lamps in the positive feeding of the work through the drier before an attendant could stop the machine or do anything about it. Such breakage is positively prevented with the present design, and each piece is subjected to drying throughout the full length thereof simultaneously, so that the drying time between the entrance and exit ends can more easily be checked and adjustments can more readily be made than where the pieces were fed through endwise.

The pieces are hot when they leave the drier and, therefore, cannot be handled. For that reason the conveyor 2i], disposed at right angles to the conveyor I1, is on a lower level, as indicated in Fig. 3, and the dried pieces drop sidewise off the outgoing end of conveyor 1! onto the conveyor 26 for passage endwise through the waxing and polishing unit 2|. The conveyor 29 extends into the feed-in end of the unit 2|, as indicated in the right hand portion of Fig. 6. Feed rolls 5B cooperate with the end portion of the conveyor to more or less positively feed the pieces through between "a pair of rotating brushes 5| and onto the intake end portion of a companion conveyor 20a, where another feed roll 52 cooperating with that conveyor more or less positively feeds the work through. A belt and pulley connection is provided between the conveyors 20 and 20a, as indicated at 53 in Fig. 6, drive being transmitted to the conveyor 26a by a belt and pulley connection, as indicated at 54, and a speed reducer being incorporated between the latter belt drive and the conveyor. The brushes 5! contacting the pieces from above and below remove whatever dust and dirt might still be on the pieces and would interfere with a good waxing and polishing job being done. The

Elk

face before the pieces emerge from the machine.

brushesil. are driven by belts, asshown, and-are vertically adjustable relative to one another, to suit different thicknesses of work and compensatefor wear, the adjustment being made by means of jack screws operable from the side of the machine by hand cranks, as indicated at 56, the cranks being detachably engageable with the squaredprojecting ends of the shafts 5'! on which are mounted bevel gears meshing with bevel gears on the jack screws, as clearly appears in Fig. 9. The pieces in traveling on the conveyor 20a first pass under a large top brush 5B and a waxing brush 59 for the waxing, a small feed roll 6!] being provided between the brushes 58 and 59 to insure a more or less positive feed. The brushes 58 and 59, are adjustable vertically toward and away from the conveyor 28a to suit different thicknesses of work, the adjustment being by means of jack screws El operable similarly as the jack screws 55. A semi-cylindrical hood type container 62 for wax is adjustable vertically independently of the brush 59 toward and away from the top of said brush by means of jack screws 63 operable by a hand crank, similarly as the jack screws 55 and SI. The screws thread in plungers $4 slidable in vertical guides $5 on the frame, and the lower ends of the plungers have angle plates 66 detachably secured thereon by means of screws 6! for demountable support of the hood 62, the latter having T- shaped vertical projections 68 thereon arranged to be clamped between the grooved lower end portion 69 of the plungers 64 and the angle plates 56, as clearly illustrated in Fig.6, whereby to permit removal of the hood 62 for re-filling whenever the block of wax 76 therein has been used up. The block of wax, as illustrated in Fig. 8, is retained by buttress type projections ll extending lengthwise of the inside of the hood, the wax bein poured in and allowed to solidify, so as to provide interlocking projections E2 on the block. The circle that passes through the inner edges of these projections H is of a radius substantially equal to the radius of the brush 59, so that substantially all of the wax can be used before the hood 52 has-to be removed for refilling, and, of course, what little wax may be left can be remelted so that there is no waste. The top brush 58 thoroughly cleans the top surface of the piece preparatory to the application of the wax by the brush 58.

The pieces I2 ,after the waxing pass under a rotary brush it and thereafter under a bufiing roll l4. The brush 13 works the wax down into the pores and the buffing roll M polishes the surready for use. The rolls indicated at l5, l6, and ii are intermediate feed rolls which cooperate with the conveyor 26a to more or less positively feed'the work through the machine. The brush lS and buffing roll "M are vertically adjustable by means of jack screws '58 and 9, similarly as the brushes 58 and 59, to suit different thicknesses of work andcompensate for wear.

In operation, it should be clear from the foregoing description that the wood flooring or other lumber to be processed is brought into building B on, hand trucks through door D1 and fed from these trucks directly to the sanders H and Ha.

-The sanded pieces l2 leaving the sander-s II and I I a are given an all-over treatment in the immersion tank it, where most of the dust due to the sanding operation will surely be rinsed off by the liquid, as an incidental feature of the treatment, which is for moisture-proofing, termite and powder post beetle proofing, and resistance to fungus. The conveyor 14 carries the pieces out of the tank and drops them onto the conveyor ii, which carries them to the wiper unit 1-8. There the pieces pass between brushes, which remove excess liquid and whatever small amount of dust might still adhere, the liquid thus retrieved :being returned to the tank 11), as indicated at I9. Hence, the pieces leaving the wiper or conveyor I ia are in the best condition for drying. The pieces then slide down the inclined shelf 15b onto conveyor 1 l, which carries them side wise through the drier unit I 8. The dried pieces, still hot from the drier, drop onto conveyor 28, which feeds them endwise through the waxing and polishing unit '21. The finished wood is then bundled on table 22 and placed on hand trucks for removal through door It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the obiects and advantages of by invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all :ligitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for finishing elongated pieces of wood flooring and other lumber, comprising a bath of treating liquid for simultaneously rinsing the pieces and applying liquid treatment to the entire surface thereof, the bath including a first means for conveying the wetted pieces out of the bath, Wiping means for removal of excess liquid from all surfaces of the pieces wetted, a second means for conveying the pieces from -the bath end-wise through the wiping means means for drying the wiped pieces by application of heat comprising a drying unit containing a bank of infra-red lamps disposed in a horizontal plane above the surface of the wood, a third means in transverse relation to the second conveyor means for receiving the pieces from the second conveying means and conveying .the pieces 'sidewise through said drying unit, means for waxing the surface of the dried pieces while still hot from the drying unit, and a fourth means in transverse relation to the second conveying means for receiving the pieces from the third conveying means and conveying the pieces endwise through the last mentioned means, the apparatus being generally U-shaped in form, the second and fourth conveying means forming the legs of the U and the third conveying means forming the cross-portion of the 'U, whereby the first change from endwise feeding to sidewise ,feeding and the second change from sidewise feeding to endwise feeding are both accomplished without turning the pieces through approximately 90.

2. In an apparatus for treating pieces of wood flooring and other lumber, a bath of treating liquid in which the pieces are completely immersed for deep penetration into the woodof the treating liquid, conveyor means for removal of the pieces from the bath to place the pieces on a second conveyor means on which the pieces are disposed travel endwise, the distance of travel on the first conveyor means being suflicient to permit substantial drainage from the pieces of surplus liquid, wiper means through which the pieces are fed endwise by the second conveyor means for removal of "remaining surplus liquid, means for drying the pieces by application of heat afterpassage through the wiper means comprising an oven containing a bank of infra-red lamps supported in a substantially horizontal plane above the surface of the wood, and m a in transverse relation to the second conveyor means for receiving the pieces from the second conveyor means and conveying the pieces sides wise through said oven, the disposition of the third conveyor means in transverse relation to the second conveyor means avoiding necessity for turning the pieces through approximately for the sidewise feeding through the drying means.

3. A generally U-shaped wood finishing ap paratus of the character described, comprising substantially parallel, relatively narrow, first and second conveyor -means traveling in opposite directions and forming the leg portions of the U and adapted to convey elongated pieces of wood flooring and other lumber endwise, a liquid bath containing treating liquid disposed adjacent the infeed end of the first conveyor means, a relatively wide third conveyor means in transverse relation to the first conveyor means for conveying the elongated pieces from the bath sidewise onto the infeed end of the first conveyor means, wiper means intermediate the ends of the first conveyor means for operation 0n the pieces endwise for removal of excess liquid from the pieces, a polishing unit cooperating with the second conveyor means for operation on the Pieces endwise to polish the pieces conveyed thereto by the second conveyor means, relatively wide drying Iunit disposed between the outfeed end of the first conveyor means and the iii-feed end of the second conveyor means, and arelatively wide fourth conveyor means in transverse relation to the first and second conveyor means for receiving pieces from the outfeed end of the first conveyor means and conveying said pieces sidewise through the drying unit to the in-feed end of the second conveyor means.

4. apparatus as set forth in claim 3, including drain means cooperating with the wiper unit and serving to conduct excess liquid collected thereby to the bath.

5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 3, including a, sander disposed adjacent the bath and arranged to discharge sanded pieces into the bath, whereby said pieces are simultaneously rinsed and treated in the bath.

6. In an apparatus for finishing wood flooring and other lumber, the combination of a sander,

.a liquid bath disposed adjacent the sander containing treating liquid and adapted to receive sanded pieces from the sander to rinse the same of sander dust While subjecting the same to treatment by complete immersion in the treating liquid, means for conveying the pieces from the bath, and drain means cooperating with the conveyor means to return excess liquid drained from the pieces during their conveyance from the bath.

'1. An apparatus for finishing elongated pieces of wood flooring and other lumber, comprising a bath of treating liquid for simultaneously rinsing the pieces and applying liquid treatment to the .entire surface thereof, wiping means for removal o f excess liquid from all surfaces of the pieces, means for conveying the pieces from the bath endwise through the wiping means, means for drying the pieces by application of heat comprising a drying unit, means in transverse relation to the first conveyor means for receiving the pieces from the first conveying means and conveying the pieces sidewise through said drying unit, means for buffing the pieces after the dryin operation, .and conveyor means disposed substantially parallel to the first conveyor means for conveying the pieces from the second conveying means endwise through the bufling means.

WILLIAM N. BELK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Brenizer Dec. 8, 1896 Number m I Name Date Balder et a1 Aug. 20, 1912 Duflln June 28, 1927 Simek Apr. 10, 1928 Allwine July 29, 1930 Zerr Jan. 3, 1939 Partee et a1. June 30, 1942 MacDonald Sept. 28, 1943 Klammt et a1 May 1, 1945 Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,519,816 August 22, 1950 WILLIAM N. BELK It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column 7, line 32, for the Words pieces Wetted read wetted pieces; line 64, after disposed insert for and that the said Letters Patent should be read as corrected above, so that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 5th day of December, A. D. 1950.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Commissioner of Patents. 

